| | 8 February 2017HIGHERReviewIN MY VIEWBusting Myths of Academic PublishingBy Dr. Debashish Sengupta, Associate Professor, Alliance Business School and Program Director of Alliance Ascent College, Alliance University, Bangalore`Publish or perish' has been the rule of the academic world. Academicians who fail to publish find themselves at disadvantage. These may range from low or no salary increments to non-tenurship or even loss of job. Research and publication therefore counts as one of the most important KPIs of every academician. The estimated number of peer-reviewed journals is close to 30000, churning out nearly two million articles every year or 20 million articles every decade. Has such growth, however, boosted academic scholarship? If it is, then why has not such mountain of research publishing benefitted the real world? Has academic publishing largely reduced to a mere publication and subscription cycle, which is read by those who need to publish and then left to be forgotten in the archives? This article takes a critical look at the world of academic publishing and aims to bust the myths and poor practices; thereby aiming to bring greater level of objectivity in research and publication, necessitating practical application.Myth 1: All Publication in Peer Reviewed Journals and Conferences are `Human' WorksIn 2005, a group of MIT graduate students decided to goof off in a very MIT graduate student way and spent a week or two between class projects to develop SCIgen - a program that randomly generates nonsensical computer-science papers, complete with realistic-looking graphs, figures, and citations. The paper developed by these MIT students made its way to a world conference, where it was accepted for publication. After its `smart' authors unveiled the secret of the paper, the conference lost its major sponsor and academic publishing world lay exposed. The `act' of these students laid bare the truth of larger part of academic publishing that questioned credibility. Dr. Debashish Sengupta completed his Ph.D. in Management from Central University of Nicaragua (UCN). He is the co-author of the Crossword Bestseller and KPMG cited book, `Employee Engagement' and in addition he has also authored 5 acclaimed books. His research papers have been featured in leading international journals. His strategic and practical insights guide leaders of large and small organizations worldwide, through his teaching, writing, and direct consultation to major corporations and governments.Dr. Debashish Sengupta
< Page 7 | Page 9 >